More than meets the eye 13/10/2007

Author's notes

To any of my readers who are Moslems, I wish you all Happy Ramadan Aidilfitri after ending your month of fasting. Well, may not be the end of your fast on your country but it is today for Malaysian Moslems, so I hope that you all have a great and happy celebration.

Chapter 25: Thunder of the Grey Mist

With a deafening roar, Devastator and Bruticus, lumbered forward with nothing but their bare fists and charged at the Autobots. A line of Decepticon drones nearly 500 metres wide also charged with Megatron at the head, roaring like a savage beast towards Optimus Prime. In the air, the Decepticon Seekers, Blitzwing and air drones flew into the air, transformed and prepared for an aerial bombardment of the Autobots.

Omega Supreme lumbered forward and then started firing. The air burned as the massive Volcano Fusion Cannon of Omega's right claw hand fired an orange beam at Devasatator. From the other hand, a bright green laser beam was fired from his left rocket hand at Bruticus. Both beams hit the two gestalts dead centre and actually stopped them in their tracks. Their armour proved their worth though as each of the Decepticons' regenerative abilities and armour strength merged with each other and managed to withstand the barrage. They had to forcibly struggle to move forward under Omega's barrage but now their momentum was delayed.

In addition, the ridiculously large amount of weaponry that Ironhide and Chromia sported appeared and started firing a devastating barrage of lascannons, fushion cannons, gattling gun fire and missiles against the air. The Decepticon air drones and their commanders flew off in separate directions in order to avoid the anti-aircraft fire. Chormia in particular was extremely accurate and managed to damage Thundercracker and Ramjet earlier on though not to the point of downing them. Both were focusing their attacks on the sentient Decepticons rather than the mindless drones. Hiding from the city, Hound on the other hand carefully took down the drones one by one. To his delight, he found that he now could mask his presence and blend to the environment altogether, almost like he was wearing an invisibility cloak that made the Decepticon air drones unable to track him even if they managed to trace where his shots were coming from.

Meanwhile, Optimus Prime, Elita One, Arcee, Jazz and Prowl, Bumblebee and Kasumi charged towards Megatron and the huge number of drones behind him, firing their weapons at them. Of the true Decepticons, only Soundwave and his five remaining mini-cons remained, Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage, Ratbat and Laserbeak. Kasumi stayed close to Bumblebee, always hovering right beside her head. For the first time in her life, she fired the guns given to her and found that she didn't like them very much. Fortunately her imagination and mental discipline allowed her to control the suit as if it were her own body and the suit responded by firing powerful bursts of laser energy that managed to blow large holes even in the larger drones despite its small size.

Jazz then zoomed in front than to froze the entire ground between the Autobots and the Decepticons so that there was now a large layer of smooth ice. Nearly all the drones skidded and fell on the smooth ice, putting them into disarray as they could not get a foothold. The Autobots on the other hand, actually transformed their feet to accommodate the smooth surface. Jazz, Arcee, Prowl and Bumblebee sprouted skates from their feet while Prime's and Elita's were had large toes each as opposed to Megatron's talon like feet, these toes now served as anchors into the ice as they continued to run towards the Decepticons. The four Autobots and then proceeded to wage a pitch battle with Soundwave, his mini-cons and the drones.

Prime tried to shoot Megatron as they ran to each other but the Decepticon leader was uncannily agile despite his huge bulk. In the end, Optimus holstered the rifle behind his back and revealed his close combat weapon. Instead of his right hand becoming an eight foot long energy sword, it now became a long handle, at the end of which was a single edged axe. Like Elita's long broad sword, the axe also cracked with anti-matter energy and the edge actually glowed white hot.

Megtron swung around and round the Key Flail as he closed the distance and at that last metre, swung it at both Prime and Elita. Prime then leaped into the air to body check Megatron. Elita then used her long knife to catch the flail before it could hit Prime. The result was a horrifying clash of metal as the two faction leaders smashed into each other, creating a small shockwave that nearly tripped most of the other Autobots who were 'skating' the ice.

"You no longer deserve to live, traitor!" Megatron hissed as he grappled with Prime, his left claw holding Prime's axe arm. His flail arm was still connected to Elita's staff and she now attempted to pull Megatron away from Prime.

"You don't have the right to decide anything about anyone's lives anymore," Optimus growled from behind his faceplate as he wrestled with Megatron.

"You still don't get it do you? You defend the weak and preserve weak emotions like love and compassion, that is why you will ultimately lose!"

The Decepticon leader roared in pain as Elita slashed her blade across Megatron's back, creating a huge gash across it. "It is because of those weak emotions that most of us are still standing here today Megatron. Why can't you see that the qualities that you've long thought to be weak are actually our greatest strengths as well as the humans?"

To their astonishment, the gash that Elita had just made regenerate itself almost instantly as a wave of silver energy was emitted by the flail head, which washed over Megatron's wound. As if that wasn't enough, Megatron actually grew larger and was now half the size of Bruticus at least. Optimus Prime's eyes widened as Megatron grinned then his hand enveloped half of Optimus' arm and lifted him clean off the ground. He then threw Optimus in the air and then tugged the flail's chain viciously. Elita yelped in surprise as the flail was connected to her staff pulled her into the air. Megatron stepped back and then swung Elita so that she crashed into Prime's falling body. The two Autobots landed on the ground on top of each other, dazed, then turned to look in horror at Megatron stomping towards them.

"Did you forget already? The unlimited transforming power of the Key To Vector Sigma is mine! You cannot harm me! I am invincible and immortal!" Megatron laughed as he gripped part of the flail's chain to make it shorter and easier to control when he swung it around.

Optimus Prime and Elita stood up and faced him warily again with axe and long knife. "This battle will not be easily won," Elita said grimly.

Prime gave a grim smile. "Humans have a saying. The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was a grim meeting as Bumblebee and Kasumi met Soundwave head on. The two Cybertronians holstered their firearms and charged at each other, Bumblebee with his energy sword while Soundwave's hand transformed into a whip and lashed it at Bumblebee. Kasumi tried to shoot the whip but almost instantly, she saw Ravage pounce at her, with claws out and teeth bared. She quickly utilised her anti-gravity skateboard to dodge Ravage but was immediately set upon by Ratbat and Laserbeak in the air. She quickly flew to higher ground but the remaining three ground-based mini-cons started firing their weapons at Kasumi, forcing her to contend with both ground and air. She retaliated by throwing an EMP grenade on the ground, which exploded near Rumble and Frenzy. Both of them cried in pain as the EMP surge briefly disabled their functions but did not destroy them. Ravage was not in range of the grenade however and quickly climbed a tall building until he was level with Kasumi's flying form then pounced.

The eldest Tendo sister tried to aim her rifle at Ravage but it was too late; Ravage collided into her, his jaws were on Kasumi's shoulder plate armour and he had pushed Kasumi backwards until both fell on top of a building with Ravage on top of Kasumi. Red warning signs were displayed on Kasumi's visor as Ravage's fangs penetrated the armour and was trying to tear of the protective plate so as to get to the next layer.

Quickly she dropped her rifle then pushed both fists into Ravage's belly. The gauntlet mounted guns fired into Ravage's belly, propelling him away but Ravage managed to bite off the plate armour off Kasumi's right shoulder, leaving the inner Exo-suit open. Kasumi quickly stood to her feet and shot both of her gauntlet guns at Ravage. Despite the two gaping wounds on Ravage's belly, it did not appear to harm or hinder him much. The Decepticon danced and dodged Kasumi's shots while forcing Kasumi to move backwards towards the edge of the building. She realised she was being pushed off and planned to fly away off the edge while still shooting at Ravage.

"Impossible! How does a submissive human female like you possess the knowledge and training to fight like a warrior!" Ravage shouted as he doggedly refused to be hit by Kasumi.

"Just because I'm submissive doesn't mean I can't fight back! And unlike you, I have friends that are willing to teach me!" Kasumi yelled even though she knew it wasn't good for her temper.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Flashback, 1 day ago.

Kasumi looked fearfully at Ratchet and Wheeljack as she lay on a white bed wearing a loose hospital gown, inside Omega Supreme's rocket form as the main Autobot task force travelled to Beijing. She tightly gripped Bumblebee's finger as Ratchet spoke gently, "I'm going to put anaesthetize your body now Kasumi but I'm afraid you have to be awake when Wheeljack attaches the exo-suit on you.."

The Tendo girl gulped as Wheeljack appeared to be whistling as he prepared a tray of what she thought to be nasty looking dental equipment. She was suddenly attacked by images from the movie Matrix, where humans were literally plugged into computers via numerous hardpoints on their spine and at the back of their heads.

"Are you going to plug my body me into the Exo-suit? I don't think I'm comfortable with it, not after what Megatron did to me," Kasumi said quietly.

Wheeljack turned to Kasumi. "We won't hardwire your entire body into the Exo-suit Kasumi. However, in order to make the suit respond to your thoughts, as well as giving you the necessary combat training on how to use it, I'm afraid we have to create a little computer plug at the back of your neck to connect to the suit. Don't worry Kasumi, this process is completely reversible although the combat training will forever be a part of you. If you want, I can even make the 'plug' unnoticeable to everyone until you actually connect to the suit. Bear in mind that we plan to remove it anyway if we win the battle."

Kasumi smiled a little. "Not 'if we win the battle' Wheeljack, 'WHEN we win the battle," she corrected him.

Wheeljack couldn't smile but his eyes widened then twinkled at her. "My apologies, WHEN we win the battle."

Bumblebee looked at Wheeljack. "The Exo-suit does work properly does it? Are you sure it's safe for Kasumi to be connected to that thing?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wheeljack demanded indignantly.

"Now now Bumblebee, I've assessed the suit at least in terms of connection and compatibility with Kasumi's anatomy and I can certify that Kasumi's brain won't be scrambled into a vegetable once she's connected. I also re-engineered the suit to make sure that at Kasumi's thought, it can completely detach itself should Wheeljack's weaponry decide to explode on her," Ratchet said calmly.

The Autobot scientist looked horrified. "You tampered with my suit? YOU TAMPERED WITH MY SUIT! HOW DARE YOU DESCECRATE MY INVENTION!" Wheeljack shouted like a sculptor who just had his sculpture vandalised.

Ratchet gave Wheeljack a death glare. "It's called safety procedures Wheeljack, to maximise everyone's survival rate. Procedures like removing that thermonuclear suicide bomb from the powersuit's left gauntlet." The look on Ratchet's face DARED Wheeljack to retort and the scientist gulped at the veteran Autobot's glare. Ratchet was a gentle Autobot in all respects until it came to matters of health, life and death.

"It was just a fail safe should we lose, I figured at least Kasumi could take one Decepticon with her," Wheeljack responded lamely.

Kasumi frowned. "Even if I did, I will not stoop to something as spiteful as taking my enemy with me Wheeljack. I'm very displeased at that thought. Please promise you won't give me any weapons of mass destruction. I want to defeat Megatron, not blow him, me and everyone else to smithereens."

Bumblebee nodded. "That's my girl."

Wheeljack threw up his arms. "OK OK, sheesh, you know you're meddling an artist in his work don't you? Now my beautiful Exo-suit is going to be marred with your interferences," he cried.

Ratchet shook his head. "You're a whacko Wheeljack, even if you are an Autobot." Chromia and Arcee then entered the medical bay. "Alright Bumblebee, I need you to step out now. We'll handle the operation from here. I suggest you meditate on our battle plans now."

The yellow Autobot nodded then reluctantly released Kasumi's hand. The Tendo girl smiled despite the trepidation that her body was going to be altered even if only slightly. "I'll see you soon Bumblebee."

Arcee placed a hand on Bumblebee's shoulder. "Fear not old friend. Kasumi's in good hands. When she meets Ravage next time, she'll be able to tear him apart with her bare hands. Well, her power armoured gauntlets anyway," she corrected herself sheepishly.

Bumblebee nodded then waved to Kasumi as he moved out of the medical bay.

Ratchet then transformed his arm, which became considerably smaller though no less intimidating as his new 'hand' had an assortment of human sized surgical tools attached to it. He then attached a breathing apparatus to Kasumi's mouth. "It's alright Kasumi, just relax. You're not going to feel a thing from now until Arcee and Chromia upload their combat training to you."

"We won't just give you the know-how of combat Kasumi, we're also taking you into a little virtual reality where we can train you. Best part is, the VR will give us more time than we have to adequately train you to be a warrior, otherwise you'll just be a green rookie who hasn't gone through any combat before," Chromia said.

Kasumi, as she felt her body growing numb, said weakly, "As long as I can save my friends and my world, it doesn't matter what happens to me."

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Shortly after she lost all sensation in her body, the breathing apparatus was removed then she witnessed Chromia and Arcee taking off the hospital gown then flipped her body so that she lay on her front. The bed had a small hole in it for her face to look out like that of a massage parlour. She couldn't see nor feel what was happening but by the sound of machinery whirring behind her, which sounded frighteningly like a chainsaw, she knew that she was being operated on. She forced herself to look on without closing her eyes. The sound of the operation went on for about five minutes before it stopped. She did not know what Wheeljack and Ratchet was doing to her until at last, she felt a slight tingling at the back of her neck then mentally gasped as she tingling burned a little and suddenly, her sense of touch returned to her body. Then she felt a large hand gently take hold of her then flipped her facing upwards.

Kasumi was still able to move her eyes and saw the four Autobots smiling at her.

"The worst is over Kasumi. Now it's time we dress you in a little something more… appropriate," Arcee said.

The two Autobot females then respectively held a piece of a body suit that seemed to be made of a very fine chain mail. The suit was mostly dark silver but it still shimmered as the light from the medical bay reflected off it. Delicately, they lifted Kasumi's body, which still had not recovered its control although it had regained its sense of touch, and then proceeded to dress Kasumi in the body suit. She mentally giggled as she thought; 'Now I know how a Barbie doll feels like being undressed and then dressed again.' She noted that certain parts of the suit seemed to have clasps or parts that looked like it could be joined with something else.

After dressing her in the suit, the bed folded itself and disappeared into the floor. In its place, a white glowing disk appeared from below her. Arcee and Chromia initially held her hanging in mid air above the disk then to Kasumi's shock, let go of her. But instead of plummeting to the ground, she found herself floating in mid air, in a vertical position as though still being held by invisible hands. Wheeljack then appeared in front of her with what looked like pieces of green plates in one arm and a screwdriver in the other.

"Now don't you worry Kasumi, this won't hurt a bit," Wheeljack said in a voice that did not do much to comfort Kasumi's nerves.

Finding that she was able to move her head, she looked at Ratchet, who growled at Wheeljack then transformed his arm into his trademark buzzsaw. "I'm warning you Wheeljack, whatever I do to you, I can reverse just before we reach Beijing," Ratchet snarled as the buzzsaw turned a few rounds.

Wheeljack looked annoyed. "For the last time, IT WON'T HURT! I implemented all of YOUR safety measures into the armour just now. You audited me remember?"

Ratchet did not change his buzzsaw back. "Just get on with it."

All in all, the process of grafting on the plates to her body, which turned out to be her exterior armour, was quite a pleasant process. For the first time, she felt the unfamiliar sensation of power as technology beyond the means of her world was literally screwed on to her body. Eventually, she was encased in a futuristic full plate armour like that of a European knight rather than a Japanese samurai but it seemed less bulky to her, even managing to convey a hint of her female figure despite the breast plate she was given. She chided herself for being narcistic at a time like this.

The last part to be grafted on was a backpack that was to be attached to the back of her breast plate. As Wheeljack finally screwed the backpack into place, she finally gasped as a strange unpleasant feeling was felt at the back of her neck, almost like something was poking something a sharp needle into her spine. The feeling was brief then all of a sudden, she regained control of her body just as the gravity disk that was suspended deactivated and she dropped to the ground. She landed awkwardly on her feet and was quite surprised to find that despite the heavy looking armour, she felt relatively light. Her difficulty in movement now was more due to the increased mass attached to her body rather than the weight of it.

At Ratchet's encouragement, she experimentally moved herself, like a baby taking its first steps. She felt that the armour was very cumbersome at first but then Arcee stood up and taught Kasumi how to balance herself. Tentatively, the two of them did a number of physical exercises so that Kasumi could run, walk, jump as well as crawl with her new suit.

Then Kasumi remembered the strange sensation at the back of her head then gingerly reached her hand to touch it. She gasped as she felt something metallic that had been grafted into the back of her head and felt a few wires coming out of it and connecting to the first body suit.

"Do not be frightened Kasumi, this is how your body is adapting well to the suit. The initial body suit we clothed you in is not just a piece of cloth: it is a powersuit by itself, bullet proof, flexible and above all, enhances your strength to superhuman levels, enough to not only hold all the armour and weaponry that Wheeljack just attached to your suit but also enough the strength of a small Cybertronian like Soundwave's accursed mini-con team. In addition, it will also allow you to interface with our minds now to continue your training," Arcee said gently as she noticed the panicked look Kasumi had as she realised the mechanical appendage.

Wheeljack then said with a small measure of satisfaction, "Ladies and gentlebots, I give you, the Cybertronian Primus class Exo-Suit mark 2007 version 1.601290."

Kasumi paled when she heard the version number. "Does that mean you've been trying to invent this suit after 601290 times?"

"Of course not. That was only on the two thousand seventh variant of the original concept. I redesigned the suit 2007 times, each with about eight hundred thousand different modifications on average before I finally got them to stop exploding," Wheeljack said to comfort Kasumi.

This was too much for Kasumi's poor nerves and she fainted. Her fall was barely caught by Chromia who looked at Wheeljack in disbelief. Wheeljack gulped as Ratchet's face suddenly resembled that of an angry bull and approached him with the buzzsaw turning at full speed.

"WHEELJACK!" The Autobot scientist needed no more warning and proceeded to run away from Ratchet around the medical bay. "YOU GAVE KASUMI A SUIT THAT YOU REDESIGNED 1.6 BILLION TIMES?!" (1)

Arcee and Chromia shook their heads as they fanned Kasumi with their hands. "Males, they never seem to be able to do anything right," Arcee said. She put some smelling salts on her finger and waved it under Kasumi's nostrils. The eldest Tendo sister awoke with a start and gazed at Ratchet chasing Wheeljack all over the medical bay. She grinned and giggled as it reminded her so much of Ranma and Akane. Her face fell nearly instantly as she thought about the two and she quickly turned to the two Autobot females.

"Please, we don't have much time. Whatever you intend to train me, please don't hold back your training techniques. I don't care how much I cry or bleed, just make sure I can be something other than a nuisance when I join the battle," Kasumi pleaded as she knelt in front of the two Autobot females. Even with her armour, she managed to do so gracefully.

The two Autobot females smiled then both sat cross-legged facing each other. Arcee's right palm was placed on top of Chromia's left palm, and Kasumi shocked herself by imagining herself flying to the top of their palms when the Exo-suit, on its own violation, fired rockets from her greaves, propelling her into the air and landing on their palms.

"Wow, that was….. fun," Kasumi said, relishing the adrenaline rush from her brief flight.

"Hmm, you might turn out to be a natural at flying. But enough of this. The difficult part begins now," Chromia said grimly. Kasumi then knelt on top of their palms then both of the Autobots shot beams of light from their eyes, each pair shooting into one of Kasumi's eyes.

Kasumi once again found her surroundings changed to what was easily a huge gymnasium which also had a massive display of close combat and ranged weaponry. She was standing at the start of a large obstacle course, with Arcee and Chromia by her sides.

"OK Kasumi, let's find out how well you fit into that Exo-suit," Arcee said, pointing towards the obstacle course.

Kasumi steeled herself then started to run through the obstacle course.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ten minutes later, Optimus Prime entered the medical chamber. He saw Kasumi clad in her newly installed armour as well as Arcee and Chromia as the three trained Kasumi in virtual reality. On a nearby television screen, Elita, Ratchet and Wheeljack observed the training. To an outsider, it was like looking at a video being fast-forwarded at least ten times the normal speed.

"She is doing remarkably fast, for one who has never thrown a punch most of her life. This human continues to amaze me Optimus. If only most of her kin were as noble as her," Elita remarked.

"Isn't that why we have sworn to aid her? That one of mankind's last vestige nobility and Godliness does not become snuffed out just because of our race's mistake or some sick human who wants to make her a slave for his fornication?" Optimus replied.

Elita shook his head. "You misunderstand me Prime. However I am feeling some hesitation in throwing her into battle, even with our best training and technology grafted into her. She is still a green rookie although I'll grant you she has the grit of a true warrior. But grit is only half the battle, I fear the battle may be too heated for even Bumblebee to protect."

Optimus sighed and put his hand on Elita's shoulder as he stood next to her. "How long has she been in VR?"

"One hour real time, nearly twenty four hours by her perception. We will stop her training soon and let her rest for another twenty minutes before we reach Beijing. That is all." Elita sighed. "I just hope Kup's team reinforces us in time. We're still at a disadvantage even with Omega Supreme. The power of Megatron's combiner team worries me and I fear that one will be an even match for Omega Supreme, to say nothing of two."

"We'll stick to our strategy as discussed. Let Bumblebee and Kasumi worry about our part and let us focus on our side. Anything more at this point would lead to chaos. But by the Matrix, I just wish I could better protect Kasumi!" Optimus said exasperatedly.

A light bulb suddenly clicked in Elita's head and she looked at Optimus face with a strange expression. "Now that you've mentioned it….."

End flashback

Kasumi steeled herself as she refocused her attempts to shoot Ravage. Suddenly a dark shadow appeared overhead and then her Heads Up Display ("HUD"), essentially a computer screen inside her helmet displaying important information such as the location of the Autobots and Decepticons, started blinking red as an indication of close proximity alert with a Decepticon. She briefly looked up to see Laserbeak swooping down on her, with talons bared and beak wide open. She threw herself to her left at the last minute but while Laserbeak barely missed her, Ravage had pounced on her at the same time and once again body checked her in mid-air.

"So, little Barbie princess playing soldier? Very well, then die as you drown in your own blood!" Ravage shouted maniacally.

Kasumi briefly panicked but quickly grabbed Ravage's throat with both hands to prevent him from biting on her now unarmoured shoulder. She knew the inner-suit itself was resistant to damage but she didn't know if it could withstand Ravage's jaws. The two combatants furiously wrestled with each other in mid-air. Their fight meant that Kasumi barely had the time to activate her anti-gravity skateboard and only did so when she was about one metre from the ground. Even then it was too late, and she landed hard on the ground with Ravage on top of her. The armour proved its worth by absorbing most of the impact and Kasumi was not dazed by the fall and renewed her efforts to throw Ravage off. Then to her horror, Ravage's paws became hands and then claws came out of his fingers that were now raised in the air to strike at Kasumi. Hurriedly she released one hand from Ravage's throat to hold his hand as it came down on her but her arms were now pre-occupied, with the other one still holding Ravage's throat.

Ravage's weight then disappeared as a gigantic foot came out of nowhere and kicked the Decepticon feline away. "Get away from her you flea infested feline!" Bumblebee angrily shouted.

Kasumi looked behind Bumblebee and saw Soundwave lashing out with his whip. "Bumblebee, watch out!" The yellow Autobot managed to turn, look at Soundwave ad dodged in time. The whip missed Bumblebee but managed to wrap itself on Bumblebee's energy sword. Kasumi took another grenade from her utility belt and was about to throw it when Rumble grabbed her from behind.

"Impudent female, this time we won't leave anything of you behind!" Rumble snarled as he pinned Kasumi from her back. Kasumi struggled to wriggle away from underneath him then cried in pain as Rumble grabbed hold of her head from behind then pulled backward with the intent of snapping her neck if not her head off. The powersuit and helmet were connected in a way that prevented such a thing from happening but it still had the effect of immobilising Kasumi.

"Kasumi!" Bumblebee shouted and his right arm transformed into his solar cannon but Soundwave yanked him away to face him.

"Frenzy, commence Operation Smash the Bitch!" Soundwave shouted, still in monotone then to Bumblebee's and Kasumi's horror, both of Frenzy's arms transformed into pile driver hammers, one of which was pointed at her head.

"First we crack the shell, then we crack the nut inside!" Frenzy said maliciously as Kasumi struggled desperately to throw Rumble off his back.

An ambulance suddenly appeared around the corner and rammed into Frenzy. The back door of the ambulance flew open and to the mini-cons horror, the entire Nerima Wrecking Crew came out of it, Ranma, Akane, Ryoga, Cologne, Mouse and Shampoo, fully healed and ready for battle once again. Akane and Shampoo let out an ear-splitting battle cry as they threw themselves against Rumble, one tackling his upper body while the other his legs respectively, thus freeing Kasumi. Rumble furiously clenched both fists and brought them down on Akane but the youngest Tendo daughter refused to let go until they were all thrown unto the ground. Only then did the two erstwhile rivals of Ranma's affection release Rumble and face off against him. Akane brandished a two handed mattock given to her by Cologne while Shampoo had her normal bonbouris. Akane's severed leg had been replaced by a mechanical prosthetic by Ratchet, which was extremely ugly and looked little more like the bone of a human leg protruding from her right knee but it was enough to make her stand and fight. The blue-haired girl then charged at Rumble with a berserker like fury but this time, Rumble was ready and responded with his pile driver hammer hands to keep her as well as Shampoo at bay.

"Ranma! Forget the pussy cat, I'll take care of him! Go find someone else to fight!" Ryoga shouted as he tossed his iron hard bandannas at Ravage. For their part, Ranma and Ravage had no desire to fight each other, Ranma due to his fear of cats while Ravage also feared Ranma greatly and did not want to push Ranma over the edge again into Cat-Fist mode. His bandannas did little to damage Ravage but it was enough to distract him while Ryoga immediately followed up with a thrust of his umbrella. The Decepticon feline growled then with one swipe from a clawed hand, ripped the iron umbrella in half. Ryoga was shocked at the destruction of his umbrella in one fell swipe then cried as Ravage swiftly administered three deep gashes across his chest, ripping his shirt in the process. His Breaking-Point training saved him though, as Ravage's swipe would have rendered a normal man in half rather than just gashing him. He tried to close the distance but the Decepticon had learnt his lesson from fighting up close and personal with Ryoga: he transformed into feline mode again then proceeded to do hit-and-scratch attacks at Ryoga to prevent him from utilising the Bakusai Tenketsu to kill Ravage once and for all. The lost boy growled and was forced to adopt a defensive stance, taking out a smaller spare umbrella from his backpack to use as a shield and desperately searching for the elusive feline.

Ranma, Cologne and Mousse had to contend with Laserbeak and Ratbat as soon as they exited Ratchet as well as a horde of drones that looked like they had been formed from house hold appliances. However even the smallest of these had small calibre guns and even mini-rocket launchers. Luckily their aiming left much to be desired and for Ranma, Cologne and Mousse, whose martial arts emphasised more on speed rather than brute strength like Ryoga, Shampoo and Akane, it was easy to dodge and smash the smaller robots along the way.

"Mousse, Ranma, terminate those two in the air!" Cologne shouted gesturing at Ratbat and Laserbeak. "I'll take care of these miniature scum."

Ranma and Mousse nodded and then climbed up the buildings to take on the flying mini-cons at higher ground. Cologne took a deep breath then channelled her chi energy into her staff before striking it on the ground. The ground exploded beneath the drones, shattering most of them or burying them under rubble. She had no time to relax as a number of larger drones, which was as tall as her, skeletal and armed with vicious claws and menacing red eyes charged at her. The Elder of the Amazon tribes proceeded to utilise the five thousands years of Amazon martial arts to fight off the drones.

To be continued……

Whew, this took a lot longer than I expected to complete. Actually it took a week and was actually two chapter before I read the whole thing again today and reorganised it into a complete chapter. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.